chanel: 67 posts

When I first smelled a vintage bottle of Coty’s L’Aimant, I understood why it was once considered Chanel No. 5’s great rival. The fragrance shimmered with aldehydes, yet instead of the icy brilliance I associate with No. 5, it felt warmer, more tender, as if the light were diffused through silk rather than crystal. There was romance in its aura, a quality that seemed less about abstraction and more about embrace.

François Coty launched L’Aimant—“the magnet”—in 1927, determined to prove that his house could meet the challenge Chanel had set six years earlier. By then, aldehydic florals were reshaping the landscape of luxury perfumery, and Coty entrusted the task to Vincent Roubert, one of the most gifted perfumers of his time. Roubert composed a fragrance that was both modern and romantic, a scent that embodied Coty’s idea of femininity as magnetic, sophisticated, and irresistibly alluring.

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Chanel’s Comète українською

Chanel’s Comète, part of the Les Exclusifs collection, takes its name from the shooting-star necklace designed by Gabrielle Chanel in 1932. Where jewelry sought to capture the shimmer of diamonds, this perfume translates radiance into scent: a floral, powdery, musky caress, soft as starlight dusting the skin.

The opening has a surprising gourmand flicker—almond and cherry, weightless and fleeting. Soon the violet unfolds, first earthy and cool, then turning sweet and powdery. Violet and heliotrope add their familiar duet: tender, almondy, with a faint modeling-clay impression that some may find comforting, others distracting. To me, it’s a reminder that playfulness often hides inside refinement.

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“What makes a perfume beautiful?” I pose a question to Maurice Roucel knowing fully well that it is a complicated question to answer. Roucel is a perfumer with more than 40 years of experience in creating exquisite perfumes, such as Hermès 24 Faubourg, Donna Karan Be Delicious, Frédéric Malle Dans Tes Bras, and Serge Lutens Iris Silver Mist, and he’s devoted much effort to promoting the notion of perfumer as an artist, rather than a mere “nose.” “We use our imagination and our brains more than noses,” he says.

Perfumery as an intangible art can be hard to champion. Although scents are related to the intangible cultural heritage protected by UNESCO such as cuisine and certain arts, they don’t benefit from the recognition or documentation. (The Osmothèque, a scent archive based in Versailles, is the main institution studying and preserving the historical fragrances today.) Perfume is generally seen as too subjective to define or even describe, which makes definitions of artistic worth complicated.

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Today have a generous giveaway courtesy of Bois de Jasmin’s reader Carla. She would like to give away a nearly full bottle of Chanel Gardenia EDP, 3.4oz/100ml. It’s our second Gardenia giveaway this year!

Carla would like your help to find a new fragrance for her. Please see her question below. Carla can send her package in the continental US.

We are not responsible for leaks or damage during transit, customs fees, or for lost packages.

To participate, please answer these questions. I will randomly draw one winner.

1. Please suggest a new perfume to Carla. “My children left for college, I moved to a new house and I’m starting a new job this fall. Lots of new things. I would like a new perfume to mark this transition for me. I like woods and spices, but nothing too sweet or heavy. I wore Diptyque Tam Dao for many years, but it’s been reformulated and no longer smells the same. Thank you for your recommendations.”
3. May I contact you via email to notify you of your win and share your email with Carla?

The contest is closed. The winner is Luce. Congratulations! I will contact you via email shortly.

I would like to thank our entire Bois de Jasmin community for your generosity and kindness, whether it means giveaways like this, advice or comments. 

Whenever I browse the list of perfume best sellers, regardless of the geographic market, I’m always struck by the enduring presence of classics. Chanel No 5 rarely gives up its position in the top five, while perfumes like Guerlain Shalimar, Clinique Aromatics Elixir, and Aramis keep their place in the top twenty. What can explain the lasting appeal of these icons, especially today when every season brings more and more new creations?

For the author of Perfume: A Century of Scents, Lizzie Ostrom, the answer lies partly in this avalanche of new launches.  “Classic scents are lodestars. When you’re feeling overwhelmed by new launches, it’s often just easier to go for the ones you recognize, like ignoring fashion fads and saving up for a Yves Saint Laurent Le Smoking instead,” she says. Perfumes like Chanel No 19 or Lancôme Magie Noire convey different moods and experiences, but they also have a reputation. (Incidentally, neither No 19 nor Magie Noire is a top seller for their brands, but their following is fiercely loyal.)

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